Numerical linked-cluster expansions for two-dimensional spin models with continuous disorder distributions.

We show that numerical linked cluster expansions (NLCEs) based on sufficiently large building blocks allow one to obtain accurate low-temperature results for the thermodynamic properties of spin lattice models with continuous disorder distributions. Specifically, we show that such results can be obtained computing the disorder averages in the NLCE clusters before calculating their weights. We provide a proof of concept using three different NLCEs based on L, square, and rectangle building blocks. We consider both classical (Ising) and quantum (Heisenberg) spin-1/2 models and show that convergence can be achieved down to temperatures that are up to two orders of magnitude lower than the relevant energy scale in the model. Additionally, we provide evidence that in one dimension one can obtain accurate results for observables such as the energy down to their ground-state values.

L-based numerical linked cluster expansion for square lattice models.

We introduce a numerical linked cluster expansion for square-lattice models whose building block is an L-shape cluster. For the spin-1/2 models studied in this work, we find that this expansion exhibits a similar or better convergence of the bare sums than that of the (larger) square-shaped clusters and can be used with resummation techniques (like the site- and bond-based expansions) to obtain results at even lower temperatures. We compare the performance of weak- and strong-embedding versions of this expansion in various spin-1/2 models and show that the strong-embedding version is preferable because of its convergence properties and lower computational cost. Finally, we show that the expansion based on the L-shape cluster can be naturally used to study properties of lattice models that smoothly connect the square and triangular lattice geometries.

Generalized Thermalization in Quantum-Chaotic Quadratic Hamiltonians.

Thermalization (generalized thermalization) in nonintegrable (integrable) quantum systems requires two ingredients: equilibration and agreement with the predictions of the Gibbs (generalized Gibbs) ensemble. We prove that observables that exhibit eigenstate thermalization in single-particle sector equilibrate in many-body sectors of quantum-chaotic quadratic models. Remarkably, the same observables do not exhibit eigenstate thermalization in many-body sectors (we establish that there are exponentially many outliers). Hence, the generalized Gibbs ensemble is generally needed to describe their expectation values after equilibration, and it is characterized by Lagrange multipliers that are smooth functions of single-particle energies.

Observation of hydrodynamization and local prethermalization in 1D Bose gases.

Hydrodynamics accurately describe relativistic heavy-ion collision experiments well before local thermal equilibrium is established1. This unexpectedly rapid onset of hydrodynamics-which takes place on the fastest available timescale-is called hydrodynamization2-4. It occurs when an interacting quantum system is quenched with an energy density that is much greater than its ground-state energy density5,6. During hydrodynamization, energy gets redistributed across very different energy scales. Hydrodynamization precedes local equilibration among momentum modes5, which is local prethermalization to a generalized Gibbs ensemble7,8 in nearly integrable systems or local thermalization in non-integrable systems9. Although many theories of quantum dynamics postulate local prethermalization10,11, the associated timescale has not been studied experimentally. Here we use an array of one-dimensional Bose gases to directly observe both hydrodynamization and local prethermalization. After we apply a Bragg scattering pulse, hydrodynamization is evident in the fast redistribution of energy among distant momentum modes, which occurs on timescales associated with the Bragg peak energies. Local prethermalization can be seen in the slower redistribution of occupation among nearby momentum modes. We find that the timescale for local prethermalization in our system is inversely proportional to the momenta involved. During hydrodynamization and local prethermalization, existing theories cannot quantitatively model our experiment. Exact theoretical calculations in the Tonks-Girardeau limit12 show qualitatively similar features.

Statistical properties of the off-diagonal matrix elements of observables in eigenstates of integrable systems.

We study the statistical properties of the off-diagonal matrix elements of observables in the energy eigenstates of integrable quantum systems. They have been found to be dense in the spin-1/2 XXZ chain, while they are sparse in noninteracting systems. We focus on the quasimomentum occupation of hard-core bosons in one dimension and show that the distributions of the off-diagonal matrix elements are well described by generalized Gamma distributions, in both the presence and absence of translational invariance but not in the presence of localization. We also show that the results obtained for the off-diagonal matrix elements of observables in the spin-1/2 XXZ model are well described by a generalized Gamma distribution.

Generalized hydrodynamics in strongly interacting 1D Bose gases.

The dynamics of strongly interacting many-body quantum systems are notoriously complex and difficult to simulate. A recently proposed theory called generalized hydrodynamics (GHD) promises to efficiently accomplish such simulations for nearly integrable systems. We test GHD with bundles of ultracold one-dimensional (1D) Bose gases by performing large trap quenches in both the strong and intermediate coupling regimes. We find that theory and experiment agree well over dozens of trap oscillations, for average dimensionless coupling strengths that range from 0.3 to 9.3. Our results show that GHD can accurately describe the quantum dynamics of a 1D nearly integrable experimental system even when particle numbers are low and density changes are large and fast.

Eigenstate Entanglement Entropy in Random Quadratic Hamiltonians.

The eigenstate entanglement entropy is a powerful tool to distinguish integrable from generic quantum-chaotic models. In integrable models, the average eigenstate entanglement entropy (over all Hamiltonian eigenstates) has a volume-law coefficient that generally depends on the subsystem fraction. In contrast, it is maximal (subsystem fraction independent) in quantum-chaotic models. Using random matrix theory for quadratic Hamiltonians, we obtain a closed-form expression for the average eigenstate entanglement entropy as a function of the subsystem fraction. We test it against numerical results for the quadratic Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and show that it describes the results for the power-law random banded matrix model (in the delocalized regime). We show that localization in quasimomentum space produces (small) deviations from our analytic predictions.

Eigenstate Thermalization in a Locally Perturbed Integrable System.

Eigenstate thermalization is widely accepted as the mechanism behind thermalization in generic isolated quantum systems. Using the example of a single magnetic defect embedded in the integrable spin-1/2 XXZ chain, we show that locally perturbing an integrable system can give rise to eigenstate thermalization. Unique to such setups is the fact that thermodynamic and transport properties of the unperturbed integrable chain emerge in properties of the eigenstates of the perturbed (nonintegrable) one. Specifically, we show that the diagonal matrix elements of observables in the perturbed eigenstates follow the microcanonical predictions for the integrable model, and that the ballistic character of spin transport in the integrable model is manifest in the behavior of the off-diagonal matrix elements of the current operator in the perturbed eigenstates.

Observation of dynamical fermionization.

The wave function of a Tonks-Girardeau (T-G) gas of strongly interacting bosons in one dimension maps onto the absolute value of the wave function of a noninteracting Fermi gas. Although this fermionization makes many aspects of the two gases identical, their equilibrium momentum distributions are quite different. We observed dynamical fermionization, where the momentum distribution of a T-G gas evolves from bosonic to fermionic after its axial confinement is removed. The asymptotic momentum distribution after expansion in one dimension is the distribution of rapidities, which are the conserved quantities associated with many-body integrable systems. Our measurements agree well with T-G gas theory. We also studied momentum evolution after the trap depth is suddenly changed to a new nonzero value, and we observed the theoretically predicted bosonic-fermionic oscillations.

Eigenstate thermalization for observables that break Hamiltonian symmetries and its counterpart in interacting integrable systems.

We study the off-diagonal matrix elements of observables that break the translational symmetry of a spin-chain Hamiltonian, and as such connect energy eigenstates from different total quasimomentum sectors. We consider quantum-chaotic and interacting integrable points of the Hamiltonian, and focus on average energies at the center of the spectrum. In the quantum-chaotic model, we find that there is eigenstate thermalization; specifically, the matrix elements are Gaussian distributed with a variance that is a smooth function of ω=E_{α}-E_{ß} (E_{α} are the eigenenergies) and scales as 1/D (D is the Hilbert space dimension). In the interacting integrable model, we find that the matrix elements exhibit a skewed log-normal-like distribution and have a variance that is also a smooth function of ω that scales as 1/D. We study in detail the low-frequency behavior of the variance of the matrix elements to unveil the regimes in which it exhibits diffusive or ballistic scaling. We show that in the quantum-chaotic model the behavior of the variance is qualitatively similar for matrix elements that connect eigenstates from the same versus different quasimomentum sectors. We also show that this is not the case in the interacting integrable model for observables whose translationally invariant counterpart does not break integrability if added as a perturbation to the Hamiltonian.

Heating Rates in Periodically Driven Strongly Interacting Quantum Many-Body Systems.

We study heating rates in strongly interacting quantum lattice systems in the thermodynamic limit. Using a numerical linked cluster expansion, we calculate the energy as a function of the driving time and find a robust exponential regime. The heating rates are shown to be in excellent agreement with Fermi's golden rule. We discuss the relationship between heating rates and, within the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, the smooth function that characterizes the off-diagonal matrix elements of the drive operator in the eigenbasis of the static Hamiltonian. We show that such a function, in nonintegrable and (remarkably) integrable Hamiltonians, can be probed experimentally by studying heating rates as functions of the drive frequency.

Entanglement and matrix elements of observables in interacting integrable systems.

We study the bipartite von Neumann entanglement entropy and matrix elements of local operators in the eigenstates of an interacting integrable Hamiltonian (the paradigmatic spin-1/2 XXZ chain), and we contrast their behavior with that of quantum chaotic systems. We find that the leading term of the average (over all eigenstates in the zero magnetization sector) eigenstate entanglement entropy has a volume-law coefficient that is smaller than the universal (maximal entanglement) one in quantum chaotic systems. This establishes the entanglement entropy as a powerful measure to distinguish integrable models from generic ones. Remarkably, our numerical results suggest that the volume-law coefficient of the average entanglement entropy of eigenstates of the spin-1/2 XXZ Hamiltonian is very close to, or the same as, the one for translationally invariant quadratic fermionic models. We also study matrix elements of local operators in the eigenstates of the spin-1/2 XXZ Hamiltonian at the center of the spectrum. For the diagonal matrix elements, we show evidence that the support does not vanish with increasing system size, while the average eigenstate-to-eigenstate fluctuations vanish in a power-law fashion. For the off-diagonal matrix elements, we show that they follow a distribution that is close to (but not quite) log-normal, and that their variance is a well-defined function of ω=E_{α}-E_{ß} ({E_{α}} are the eigenenergies) proportional to 1/D, where D is the Hilbert space dimension.

Volume Law and Quantum Criticality in the Entanglement Entropy of Excited Eigenstates of the Quantum Ising Model.

Much has been learned about universal properties of entanglement entropies in ground states of quantum many-body lattice systems. Here we unveil universal properties of the average bipartite entanglement entropy of eigenstates of the paradigmatic quantum Ising model in one dimension. The leading term exhibits a volume-law scaling that we argue is universal for translationally invariant quadratic models. The subleading term is constant at the critical field for the quantum phase transition and vanishes otherwise (in the thermodynamic limit); i.e., the critical field can be identified from subleading corrections to the average (over all eigenstates) entanglement entropy.

Quantum Quenches and Relaxation Dynamics in the Thermodynamic Limit.

We implement numerical linked cluster expansions (NLCEs) to study dynamics of lattice systems following quantum quenches, and focus on a hard-core boson model in one-dimensional lattices. We find that, in the nonintegrable regime and within the accessible times, local observables exhibit exponential relaxation. We determine the relaxation rate as one departs from the integrable point and show that it scales quadratically with the strength of the integrability breaking perturbation. We compare the NLCE results with those from exact diagonalization calculations on finite chains with periodic boundary conditions, and show that NLCEs are far more accurate.

Entanglement Entropy of Eigenstates of Quantum Chaotic Hamiltonians.

In quantum statistical mechanics, it is of fundamental interest to understand how close the bipartite entanglement entropy of eigenstates of quantum chaotic Hamiltonians is to maximal. For random pure states in the Hilbert space, the average entanglement entropy is known to be nearly maximal, with a deviation that is, at most, a constant. Here we prove that, in a system that is away from half filling and divided in two equal halves, an upper bound for the average entanglement entropy of random pure states with a fixed particle number and normally distributed real coefficients exhibits a deviation from the maximal value that grows with the square root of the volume of the system. Exact numerical results for highly excited eigenstates of a particle number conserving quantum chaotic model indicate that the bound is saturated with increasing system size.

Equilibration Dynamics of Strongly Interacting Bosons in 2D Lattices with Disorder.

Motivated by recent optical lattice experiments [J.-y. Choi et al., Science 352, 1547 (2016)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.aaf8834], we study the dynamics of strongly interacting bosons in the presence of disorder in two dimensions. We show that Gutzwiller mean-field theory (GMFT) captures the main experimental observations, which are a result of the competition between disorder and interactions. Our findings highlight the difficulty in distinguishing glassy dynamics, which can be captured by GMFT, and many-body localization, which cannot be captured by GMFT, and indicate the need for further experimental studies of this system.

Entanglement Entropy of Eigenstates of Quadratic Fermionic Hamiltonians.

In a seminal paper [D. N. Page, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1291 (1993)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1291], Page proved that the average entanglement entropy of subsystems of random pure states is S_{ave}≃lnD_{A}-(1/2)D_{A}^{2}/D for 1≪D_{A}≤sqrt[D], where D_{A} and D are the Hilbert space dimensions of the subsystem and the system, respectively. Hence, typical pure states are (nearly) maximally entangled. We develop tools to compute the average entanglement entropy ⟨S⟩ of all eigenstates of quadratic fermionic Hamiltonians. In particular, we derive exact bounds for the most general translationally invariant models lnD_{A}-(lnD_{A})^{2}/lnD≤⟨S⟩≤lnD_{A}-[1/(2ln2)](lnD_{A})^{2}/lnD. Consequently, we prove that (i) if the subsystem size is a finite fraction of the system size, then ⟨S⟩

Work extraction in an isolated quantum lattice system: Grand canonical and generalized Gibbs ensemble predictions.

We study work extraction (defined as the difference between the initial and the final energy) in noninteracting and (effectively) weakly interacting isolated fermionic quantum lattice systems in one dimension, which undergo a sequence of quenches and equilibration. The systems are divided in two parts, which we identify as the subsystem of interest and the bath. We extract work by quenching the on-site potentials in the subsystem, letting the entire system equilibrate, and returning to the initial parameters in the subsystem using a quasistatic process (the bath is never acted upon). We select initial states that are direct products of thermal states of the subsystem and the bath, and consider equilibration to the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE, noninteracting case) and to the Gibbs ensemble (GE, weakly interacting case). We identify the class of quenches that, in the thermodynamic limit, results in GE and GGE entropies after the quench that are identical to the one in the initial state (quenches that do not produce entropy). Those quenches guarantee maximal work extraction when thermalization occurs. We show that the same remains true in the presence of integrable dynamics that results in equilibration to the GGE.